News Corp posts Q4 net income of $151 million

News Corp has posted a net income of $151 million (£93 million) for the quarter ending in December, with chief executive Robert Thompson stating the company's "digital transformation is underway".

However, the global media conglomerate said group revenue fell by 4% to US$2.24 billion, due to reduced advertising sales at its Australian newspapers division.

This is only the second set of results News Corp has posted since spinning off its publishing and entertainment divisions into two separate companies in June 2013.

Its book publishing arm HarperCollins contributed most to News Corp's coffers. Sales of the "Divergent" teen series by Veronica Roth and "The First Phone Call from Heaven" by Mitch Albom helped lift the publishing segment's revenue 4% higher to $14 million.

Overall, newspaper publishing accounts for more than 70% of the company's revenue with titles ranging from tabloid news paper The Sun to the Wall Street Journal.

News Corp's chief executive Thompson said: "We are continuing to be disciplined on costs, while making opportunistic investments that will extend our revenue reach.

"The digital transformation is certainly underway, as the acquisition of Storyful and the robust growth in digital sales at HarperCollins attest."

However, Thompson admitted that the media advertisement sales market remained "challenging".